Wheel-hub



(No Model.)

J.VP. WARNER.

WHEEL HUB.

Patented May 13, 1884.

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Unirse drames trice.

Artnr WHEEL-HUB.

SPECIPICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,525, dated May 13, 1884.

Application filed October 23, 1853.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JASPER I. W'ARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Dowagiac, county of Cass, and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVheellIubs, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements in hubs for vehicle-wheels in which the spokes are secured in a cylindrical shell that is in turn supported on the box or bushing for the axle by means of caps arranged upon the box and tightened up against the ends of the shell. Heretofore hubs of such description have been constructed with one of the caps cast in one piece with the box, and the remaining cap either screwed upon the opposite screw-threaded end of the box or fitted upon a nut that is screwed upon the end of the box, in order to tighten up the cap against the shell. Such construction involves the expense of machinework after the castings have been made, in order to cut the screw-thread 5 and it has also been found that, owing to the constant jar to which the hub is subjected during use, the screw-cap or the nut for holding an unthreaded cap does not serve to'bind and maintain the parts rigidly together in as effective a manner as is desirable. In anotherv instance the outer cylindrical shell for the spokes has been made of wrought-iron and shrunk upon an annular flange formed around the middle portion of the box, and a pair of disks fitted within the said outer shell, and held upon the ends of the box by means of bolts passing through the flange' on the box and extending from one disk to the other 5 but in such construction of hub the outer shell is not readily detachable from the box, and to secure it thereon requires the operation ofshrinking it thereon, which therefore does not admit of the various parts of the hub being properly fitted and secured together, except at special places, lwhere apparatus necessary for such operation is to be found 5 also, whilethe disks can be drawn up against the nuts that are on the ends of the spokes projecting inwardly from the inner side of the shell, the said disks do not bindagainst the extremitiesof' the shell with a force coincident with the axis ofthe hub, whereby the security of the shell upon the hub is mainly dependent upon its being shrunk on the flanged portion ofthe latter.

It is the object of my invention to dispense with all machine-work for screw-threading any portion ofthe hub after the castings have been made, to avoid any shrinking and permanent fastening of the shell on the box, to lessen the time, labor, and cost in the manufacture of hubs, and also to provide novel means for efficiently binding and holding the parts of the hub together, so that during use there shall be no liability of the parts becoming loosened or detached from each other. It may also be mentioned that, in additionto lessening the cost and simplifying the construction of the hub, the parts of a hub made in accordance' with my invention can be readily fitted together and tightened up in the rst instance, and that with but little effort they can be subsequently tightened up to a further extent, should occasion require. These objects I attain by the devices illustra-ted in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l represents a central longitudinal section through a hub constructed in accordance with my invention and fitted upon an ordinary axle. Fig. 2 is a like view with both caps made separate from the box, in place of forming one of the caps integral with the same, as in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end view of the hub.

lThe outer portion of this hub consists of a cylindrical metal shell, A, provided with an nular lines of perforations for receiving the inner ends of the spokes B, which are screwthreaded, in order to receive nuts that can be fitted thereon, and tightened up against the inner side of the shell, so as to rmly secure the spokes in place after they have been insertedin saidperforations. This outer shell for holding the spokes is supported around the centrally-located box or bushing C of the hub by means of a pair of caps, D and D', one of which can be cast in one piece with the box; or, if preferred, both caps can be made separate therefrom. rI`he preferred mode is to form one cap, D, integral with the shell, as in Fig. 1, in which case the independent cap D will be in the nat-ure of a disk having'a central opening to admit of its being iitted upon one end of the box,while the cap Dwill be in the nature of an' annular flange formed upon the box near IOO its opposite end. In both instances I propose forming each cap with a peripheral flange, d, adapted to iit upon the perimeter of the cylindrical shell at its ends, whereby a tight joint can be made between the shell and the caps, and the entrance of dirt into the box precluded. IVhere but one of the caps is made 'separate from the box, as in said Fig. l, the

box is made with an external taper, c, at the end upon which the cap is iitted, and the wall of the central opening through the cap is made with a like taper or bevel, so that when the cap is placed upon the box and drawn toward and against one end of the shell it shall be wedged upon the box, and thereby caused to firmly bind thereon,thus insuring` a tight and rigid connection without the necessity of screw-threads. When, however, both caps are made separate from the box, as in Fig. 2, the box will have both ends formed with an external taper, c, and the wall of the central opening through both of the caps will have a corresponding bevel or taper, for a like purpose. These caps serve to close at both ends the annular chamber between the shell and the box, whereby, after the spokes have been fitted in the shell and the nuts tightened up on the inner ends of the spokes, the cap or caps can be fitted on the box, as herein illustrated. A These caps also hold the shell securely in place around the box; and to such end I connect the capswith each other by any desired number of tie-bolts, E-three, for example-passing from cap to cap through the annular chamber between the shell and the box, and arranged coincident with the axis of the hub. The caps are provided with perforations for the bolts, and are drawn toward each other and caused to bind iirmly against the ends of the shell,and either one or both also wedged upon the tapering end 'or ends of the box by tightening up nuts E against the outer face of either cap from which the screw-threaded ends of the bolts project. It will be seen that by reason of such construction the screwthreading of either the caps, the box, or the shell is avoided,whereby the parts,after being cast,will be ready to be put together without the cost of such additional operation, and also that as the rigidity of the hub is dependent upon the individual binding-power of several members*namely,.the bolts and nutsmany aeeidental loosening up of one nut will not affect the remaining nuts, and also that the tightening up of these nuts will be an easy matter, also, that the parts of the wheel can be fitted together to form anished article without necessitating expert labor, and hence trouble and expense are avoided. As a further means for insuring the rigidity of the hub, Ihave shown in Fig. 2 a wedge-shaped spline or projection, F, formed at each end ofthe box and received in a corresponding groove formed in the cap. This feature can also be employed for the removable cap in Fig. l, and will be found to add strength and rigidity to the structure. If de sired, the flanges of the caps can be made wider than herein shown, and a series of notches formed in the edge of each flange corresponding to the number of spokes, so that when the caps are drawn against the ends of the shell the spokes will be received in said notches, and hence additional bearings be provided for the spokes, and also the caps be more securely held against any torsional strain.

An import-ant advantage involved in the present construction of wheel-hub is that the box can be readily taken out and replaced by a new one inl case it becomes worn and uniit for use. It will be seen that the wear is principally on the box, and that as a rule this is the only part of the hub requiring renewal, and hence by simply unserewing the nuts from the bolts that connect the caps together the box can be readily taken out and a new box substituted at a small expense, with but little trouble, and without necessitating any disarrangement of the remaining parts of the hub, or requiring any machine-work, such as recutting screw-threads. Another feature highly deserving of 'mention is that as the box placed in the wheelin the first instance, or any box subsequently substituted therefor, is not required to be screw-threaded or cut in any way for any purpose whatever, I can make the box of chilled iron, and hence produce a wheel having all the advantages hereinbefore set forth, and also provide it with a box of superior hardness and capability of resisting wear.

Having described my invention, what I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, in ahub, ofthe box with an outer shell removably held in position around the box by a pair of Vcaps connected with each other by tie-bolts and nuts, by means of which the caps are drawn toward each other, and their inner opposing faces caused to exert a binding force against the outer ends of the said shell, so as to hold the latter in place, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a hub, of an outer shell for holding the spokes with the inner box for the axle, and a pair of caps located on the box and drawn toward each other and against the ends of the shell by tie-bolts provided with binding-nuts, and passing from one, cap to the other, one'of said caps being made integral with the shell and both serving to removably hold the shell in position around the box, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a hub, of an outer shell for holding the spokes with an inner box, C, having an external taper at one or both ends, and a pair of caps located on the box and held against the ends of the outer shell, one or both of said caps being removably iitted on a tapering portionof the box, and wedged thereon by the means employed for drawing and holding it against the shell, substantially as described.

4L. The combination, in a hub, of the box IOO IIO

having an external taper, c, at one or both I other, and provided with bindingnuts',wliereends with an outer shell, to which the spokes are secured, and apair of caps connected together by tie-bolts passing from one cap to the other, one or both of said caps being removably fitted on a tapering portion of the box, and wedged thereon by the binding force of the bolts and nuts which serve to draw the caps against the outer shell, substantially as described.

5. The combination, in a hub, of an outer shell for holding the spokes with a box, C, for the axle, a pair of caps, D D, each provided with a peripheral ange, d, iitting upon the perimeter of the shell, and having their opposing` faces held against the ends of the latter, and the bolts passing from one cap to the by the said members are removably secured together, substantially as described.

6. The combination, in a hub, of an outer shell for holding the spokes with an inner boX, C, provided with a spline, F, at one or both ends, a pair of caps, D D', one or both of which is made separate from the box, and the bolts connecting together the said caps, and serving to draw them toward each other and hold them against the ends of the outershell, substantially as described.

JASPER P. VARNER.

Vitnesses:

W. W. ELLIOTT, CHAs. G. PAGE. 

